Winifred Florence Shotter (5 November 1904 – 4 April 1996) was an English actress best known for her appearances in the Aldwych farces of the 1920s and early 1930s. Initially a singer and dancer in the ensembles of musical comedies, Shotter was spotted by the comedian and producer Leslie Henson. He recommended her to his colleague Tom Walls, who was in search of a leading lady to succeed Yvonne Arnaud in his series of farces at the Aldwych Theatre, London. From 1926 to 1932, Shotter played in eight of the farces, in a regular company headed by Walls and Ralph Lynn. She appeared in several films during the 1930s, including adaptations of four of the Aldwych plays. After the Aldwych series ended, Shotter appeared in numerous West End shows, worked briefly in Hollywood, and continued to appear in British films. During the Second World War she joined the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), performing for troops in Europe and Asia. An example is French Leave, a play by Reginald Berkeley, sub-titled: A Normandy Story, where she appeared with Lawrence O'Madden. After the war she joined the BBC as an announcer on the relaunched television service. During the 1950s she gradually withdrew from performing and retired to Switzerland with her second husband. Life and career Early years Shotter was born in London, the eldest of the six children (five of them girls) of Frederick Ernest and Harriet Payne Shotter. The four younger daughters, Constance, Margaret, Eva and Barbara, all followed Winifred into the acting profession. Their only brother, Victor, became a television executive. Her father worked as a tie cutter and later as the manager of a leather factory. Before Winifred there was no stage tradition in her family, but from her days as a schoolgirl at Maidenhead High School she was determined to perform. She made her London debut, at the age of 14, in a travesti role in Soldier Boy at the Apollo Theatre. Over the next five years she was a member of the ensemble in musical comedies at the Winter Garden Theatre, with small roles in the hit show Sally (1921) and then in The Beauty Prize (1923), both of which starred Leslie Henson. In 1925 she made her New York debut at the Gaiety in the revue By-the-Way. Aldwych farce When she returned to England, Henson recommended Shotter to his co-producer Tom Walls for the ingenue